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Office of the Secretary  50 Harry S. Truman Parkway   Annapolis, Maryland 21401                                                                                             

Changes to Lawn Fertilizer Law to take Effect October

Annapolis, MD—(September 14, 2018) The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that new regulations regarding the use of fertilizer products will take effect October 1, 2018 as a result of changes made to Maryland’s Lawn Fertilizer Law during the 2018 session of the Maryland General Assembly. The changes make the regulations regarding organic fertilizer products consistent with those for synthetic products. Additionally, they give professional fertilizer applicators more choices in the products they can use.  Specifically, the new law:  

·         Allows lawn care professionals to apply up to 0.5 pound of soluble or insoluble nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. from November 15 through December 1. Currently only soluble nitrogen is allowed during this time period.

·         Removes the requirement that organic fertilizer products be “low phosphate.” The change allows these products to be applied according to University of Maryland recommendations and soil test results.

The Fertilizer Use Act of 2011—also known as Maryland’s Lawn Fertilizer Law—authorizes the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Management Program to regulate the use of fertilizer on turf not used for agricultural purposes. It requires both homeowners and lawn care professionals to follow University of Maryland fertilizer recommendations and use best management practices when fertilizing lawns. In addition, the law requires lawn care professionals to be licensed and certified by the Maryland Department of Agriculture to apply fertilizer to the properties they manage. The department maintains a list of certified lawn care professionals along with additional information on Maryland’s Lawn Fertilizer Law on its website at www.mda.maryland.gov/fertilizer.

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